Q3 Earnings Alert! Plan early for this week’s stock reports with all key data in 1 placeSee list

Elon Musk's whirlwind China trip included talks with vice premier

Published 2023-05-31, 07:56 p/m
© Reuters. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk walks next to Tesla's Senior Vice President Tom Zhu and Vice President Grace Tao as he leaves a hotel in Beijing, China May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
TSLA
-

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk departed Shanghai on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day trip to China in which he met senior Chinese government officials including the highest-ranking vice premier.

Photos and a video of Musk's visit late Wednesday to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s Shanghai factory - the automaker's biggest production hub - showed him holding up a "Giga Shanghai" sign, flanked by hundreds of staff including Tom Zhu, head of global manufacturing.

The video released by Tesla showed Musk praising employees for "overcoming so many difficulties and challenges" and making a heart sign with his hands.

Earlier in the trip, Musk met with China's foreign, commerce and industry ministers in Beijing and dined with the chairman of battery supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL).

He also met with Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said. Ding is the sixth highest-ranked leader in the Politburo Standing Committee, the top governing body led by President Xi Jinping.

This marks the first time that Ding is known to have had a one-on-one meeting with a foreign CEO. China values its relationship with Tesla and in 2019 Musk had a one-on-one meeting with then premier Li Keqiang.

Tesla, the State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk also met with Chen Jining, Shanghai's party secretary, who welcomed Tesla to increase its investments and expand businesses in the city, according to a statement from the municipal government on Thursday.

Since his arrival in China on Tuesday morning, the U.S. billionaire has been showered with praise by the Chinese public, but Musk himself has been uncharacteristically silent and has yet to make any public statements.

Little is known of the conversations he had with Chinese government officials so far. The sources, who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified, did not provide details of Musk's discussions with Ding.

© Reuters. Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk poses for a group photo at the Shanghai Gigafactory of the U.S. electric vehicle maker in Shanghai, China, in this handout image released on June 1, 2023. Tesla/Handout via REUTERS

The industry ministry said only that Musk and its head exchanged views about the development of electric vehicles and connected cars; the commerce ministry announced Musk had discussed Tesla's development in China with its minister.

The U.S. billionaire's private jet took off from Shanghai's Hongqiao airport on Thursday morning, heading for Austin, Texas, where Tesla's global headquarters is located, according to flight-tracking platform Variflight.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.